Author Topic: Earth from space: image of the week  (Read 286496 times)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #520 on: 05/13/2022 10:04 am »
Arc de Triomphe, Paris
13/05/2022

This striking, high-resolution image of the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, was captured by Planet SkySat – a fleet of satellites that have just joined ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme in April 2022.

The Arc de Triomphe, or in full Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, is an iconic symbol of France and one of the world’s best-known commemorative monuments. The triumphal arch was commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies. Construction of the arch began the following year, on 15 August (Napoleon’s birthday).

The arch stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, the meeting point of 12 grand avenues which form a star (or étoile), which is why it is also referred to as the Arch of Triumph of the Star. The arch is 50 m high and 45 m wide.

The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on the arch’s inner and outer surfaces, while the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I lies beneath its vault. The tomb’s flame is rekindled every evening as a symbol of the enduring nature of the commemoration and respect shown to those who have fallen in the name of France.

The Arc de Triomphe’s location at the Place Charles de Gaulle places it at the heart of the capital and the western terminus of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées (visible in the bottom-right of the image). Often referred to as the ‘most beautiful avenue in the world’, the Champs-Élysées is known for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops, as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race, as well as for its annual Bastille Day military parade.

This image, captured on 9 April 2022, was provided by Planet SkySat – a fleet of 21 very high-resolution satellites capable of collecting images multiple times during the day. SkySat’s satellite imagery, with 50 cm spatial resolution, is high enough to focus on areas of great interest, identifying objects such as vehicles and shipping containers.

SkySat data, along with PlanetScope (both owned and operated by Planet Labs), serve numerous commercial and governmental applications. These data are now available through ESA’s Third Party Mission programme – enabling researchers, scientists and companies from around the world the ability to access Planet’s high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data for non-commercial use.

Within this programme, Planet joins more than 50 other missions to add near-daily PlanetScope imagery, 50 cm SkySat imagery, and RapidEye archive data to this global network.

Peggy Fischer, Mission Manager for ESA’s Third Party Missions, commented, “We are very pleased to welcome PlanetScope and SkySat to ESA’s Third Party Missions portfolio and to begin the distribution of the Planet data through the ESA Earthnet Programme.

“The high-resolution and high-frequency imagery from these satellite constellations will provide an invaluable resource for the European R&D and applications community, greatly benefiting research and business opportunities across a wide range of sectors.”
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #521 on: 06/17/2022 12:18 pm »
Glacier Bay, Alaska
17/06/2022

Part of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, which lies along the coast of southeast Alaska, is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Covering over 13 000 sq km of rugged, snow-capped mountains, freshwater lakes, glaciers and deep fjords, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is one of the highlights of Alaska’s Inside Passage. As marine waters make up almost one-fifth of the park, Glacier Bay is rich with marine life, including humpback whales, orcas and sea otters. It’s also home to a large population of bears, moose, wolves and mountain goats.

The bay contains some of the world’s most impressive glaciers that descend from the ice-covered St. Elias Range in the east and the Fairweather Range in the west, with a few notable tidewater glaciers extending all the way to the sea.

John Hopkins Glacier, visible in the far left of the image, is the largest tidewater glacier in the region. Muir Glacier, formerly the most famous of the tidewater glaciers, once rose around 80 m above water and was nearly 3 km wide but has now shrunk and receded and no longer reaches the sea.

Glacier Bay is just one of the many areas suffering from the effects of global warming. The bay is expected to become warmer and drier over the next century, with widespread effects including the further shrinking glaciers, reduced sea ice and shoreline erosion.

Monitoring glaciers is often a challenge considering their sheer size, remoteness and rugged terrain they occupy. Satellites, including ESA’s CryoSat mission, with its elite spaceborne sensor – the radar altimeter – allows for the mapping of glaciers in fine detail. In a study published last year in the Cryosphere, scientists utilised data from the CryoSat mission to show how much ice had been lost from mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska.

Today marks the opening of the ‘Earth’s Memory - glaciers witnesses to the climate crisis’ exhibition, that follows the scientific and photographic journey of glaciers around the world, premiering the results of the ‘On the trail of the glaciers’ project directed by Italian photographer Fabiano Ventura. The exhibition, which is being held in the Forte di Bard Museum, Aosta Valley, Italy, offers its visitors the opportunity to witness the effects of global warming through the power of both photography and ESA satellite imagery.

The exhibition focuses on the world’s largest mountain glaciers with 90 photographic comparisons displayed alongside scientific data collected during the team’s expedition to the world’s largest mountain glaciers. It runs until 18 November 2022 and includes images such as the one featured on this week’s Earth from Space programme. More information on the exhibition, which is part of a scientific collaboration between ESA and is sponsored by UNESCO, can be found here.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #522 on: 06/24/2022 11:29 am »
Lake Balkhash, Kazakhastan
24/06/2022

Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The lake, which is situated in east-central Kazakhastan, is around 605 km in length from east to west, with a maximum depth of around 25 m. The lake’s size varies depending on water balance, with its area fluctuating from around 15 000 sq km to 19 000 sq km.

Jutting out into the lake is the Sarymsek Peninsula which divides Balkhash into two separate hydraulic parts. The west part is wide and shallow with its water on this side particularly fresh and suitable for drinking. The east part, on the other hand, is narrow and relatively deep, with its waters on this side of the basin brackish and salty. The two parts of the lake are united by a narrow strait, the Uzynaral visible in the centre of the image, with a depth of around 6 m.

The sediment plume passing through the Uzynaral Strait is most likely due to waves stirring up sediments from the bottom of the lake. This has led to a higher reflection and thus a brighter water colour in this part of the lake.

The north banks of Lake Balkhash are high and rocky while the south banks are low and sandy, with wide belts covered with thickets of reeds and numerous small lakes. These low-lying banks are periodically flooded by the waters of the lake.

A high presence of sea ice can be seen in bright blue-greenish colours especially near the southern shoreline. This colour is due to ice having a higher reflectance in the visible parts of the spectrum than in the near-infrared. Balkhash usually remains frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April, with this image captured on 29 November 2021.

South of Balkhash lies the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert, which stretches for around 400 km in east Kazakhastan. There are a great number of small lakes, ponds and wetlands in the desert (visible in brown), as well as occasional grasslands, that support a varied animal and bird population.

Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission to supply the coverage and data delivery needed for Europe’s Copernicus programme. The mission’s frequent revisits over the same area and high spatial resolution allow changes in water bodies to be closely monitored.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #523 on: 07/01/2022 08:24 am »
Patagonia
01/07/2022

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured this impressive, wide-angled view of Patagonia at the southern end of South America, as well as the Falkland Islands.

Covering an area of around 673 000 sq km, Patagonia is split by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains, with lakes, fjords, rainforests and glaciers in the west and deserts and tablelands to the east.

The island archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, located at the southern tip of Patagonia (the southernmost tip of the image), is shared by Argentina and Chile, with the eastern part of the main island belonging to Argentina and the southern point of the archipelago, which forms Cape Horn, belonging to Chile. The Strait of Magellan, named after the discoverer, lies between Tierra del Fuego and mainland Argentina.

Part of the Alberto de Agostini National Park can be seen in the bottom of the image. The park features a highly irregular coastline, which is deeply indented by fjords. Deemed a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the park has several tidewater glaciers and comprises the Gordon, Cook and Londonderry islands.

The Falkland Islands can be seen in the far-right of the image. The islands lie in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 600 km east of Patagonia. The Falklands comprise two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, which are separated by the Falkland Sound – a channel that averages around 20 km in width.

The swirling green and blue coloured areas are densely concentrated phytoplankton blooms. These microscopic organisms thrive in the cool, nutrient-rich waters between the coast of southern Argentina and the Falkland Islands. Nutrients carried by rivers promote phytoplankton growth, which may explain the plankton hugging the South American coastline in the image, as well as dust carried from Patagonia offshore which is then diffused on the ocean surface by strong westerly winds.

In spring and summer, populations of algae in the South Atlantic often explode into enormous blooms – which float with the meandering ocean currents. Carrying a suite of cutting-edge instruments, Copernicus Sentinel-3 measures systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics.

Sentinel-3 measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice, while over land maps land, provides indices of vegetation state and measures the height of rivers and lakes.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #524 on: 07/08/2022 09:42 am »
Fuerteventura and Lanzarote
08/07/2022

Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, part of the Canary Islands lying in the North Atlantic Ocean, are featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The Canary Islands are a group of ocean island volcanoes that were formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. The Spanish region and archipelago is located around 100 km off the north coast of Africa and 1000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. The eight main islands are (in order of largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. The archipelago also includes many smaller islands and islets.

Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, is visible in the top-right of the image. With over 150 000 inhabitants, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. It covers an area of 845 sq km, making it the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago.

Lanzarote has a long history of eruptions and is often referred to as the ‘Island of the 1000 volcanoes’, yet it is actually the least mountainous Canarian Island. The highest mountain is the volcano Peñas del Chache near Haría in the northern part of the island, which is 670 m above sea level. The Timanfaya National Park can be seen in the southwest part of the island and is entirely made up of volcanic soil.

Fuerteventura Island, the second largest of the Canaries, lies southwest of Lanzarote, across the Bocaina Strait. Its total area is 1731 sq km and the island is around 110 km long and no more than 30 km wide. Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Archipelago, having risen between 12 and 20 million years ago owing largely to volcanic activity.

The island is fairly flat and has a desert landscape of sand and stones as well as long beaches. The centre of the island is made up of a wide, elongated valley and, from north to south, is dissected by a series of extinct, eroded volcanoes. The west coast is dotted with rugged cliffs and small bays.

To the northeast of Fuerteventura, separated by the 15 m deep strait El Río, lies the island of Isla de Lobos. The only six sq km island is home to a 127 m high extinct volcano.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #525 on: 08/17/2022 01:53 pm »
Rhine river runs dry
17/08/2022

Water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s second-largest river, have continued to drop owing to soaring temperatures and lack of rainfall, preventing many vessels from navigating through the waters at full capacity. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured part of the Rhine River near Cologne – showing the stark difference between August 2021 and August 2022.

Flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, the Rhine River is an important shipping route for many products from grains to chemicals to coal. When water levels drop, cargo vessels need to sail with reduced load, so they don’t run aground.

Water levels at the chokepoint of Kaub, near Frankfurt, fell to 32 cm in depth on Monday, down from 42 cm last week. Ships, however, need around 1.5 m to be able to sail fully loaded making it difficult for larger ships to navigate through the waters. Freight ships continue to sail, but only with around 25% to 35% of the ship’s capacity.

The low water levels are emerging earlier than usual, with the lowest water levels typically recorded in September or October. However, reduced temperatures and predicted rainfall forecasted for this week may offer relief to the Rhine.

The phenomenon facing the Rhine is common across much of Europe after an unusually hot and dry summer – causing wildfires and water shortages.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites capture high-resolution imagery that provide information about the conditions on Earth, such as plant life, soil and coastal areas. The mission consists of two satellites both of which carry an innovative multispectral imager – a camera that captures optical images over a range of wavelengths beyond visible light.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #526 on: 09/16/2022 11:36 am »
UK heatwave
16/09/2022

This summer, heatwaves struck Europe, North Africa, the US and Asia with temperatures reaching over 40°C in places – breaking many long-standing records. Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission show the scale of Britain’s heatwave as it baked in extreme temperatures in August.

The image, captured on 12 August 2022, shows the United Kingdom’s previously green land appear brown (particularly in the southeast) amid the scorching conditions. The heatwave comes after months of extreme temperatures and low rainfall left the landscape parched. The dry conditions are also visible in parts of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The severe heatwaves experienced across Europe this summer are a harsh reminder of what is in store for our future.  Extreme weather events will happen more frequently and intensely according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This trend is set to worsen unless the rise in atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities is addressed.

Satellites orbiting our planet play an important role in delivering data to understand and monitor how our world is changing. Their observations and data are critical for improving model predictions of our future climate, mitigation strategies and policymaking.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission not only provides two-day global coverage optical data, but it also carries a Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer instrument that measures Earth’s land surface temperature (how hot the actual surface would feel to touch). During August 2022, the Sentinel-3 mission recorded extreme land surface temperatures of more than 45°C in the United Kingdom, 50°C in France and 60°C in Spain.

Sentinel-3 data has also been merged with archived satellite observations to form a recently released 25-year record of global land surface temperatures (from 1995 to 2020) developed by ESA’s Climate Change Initiative along with Europe’s leading climate scientists. This data record shows a stable increase in global land surface temperature of 0.2°C per decade, with strong regional variability.

Monitoring land-surface temperatures is useful for scientists because the warmth rising from Earth’s surface influences weather and climate patterns. These measurements are particularly important for farmers evaluating how much water their crops need and for urban planners looking to improve heat-mitigating strategies.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #527 on: 09/23/2022 09:22 am »
Lake Trasimeno, Italy
23/09/2022

Lake Trasimeno, the fourth largest lake in Italy

Lake Trasimeno is located in central Italy, around 20 km west of Perugia, and has an area of around 128 sq km. It is shallow, with its maximum depth of approximately 6 m, although the lake’s water level varies depending on meteorological and climatic conditions.

In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark coloured waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae.

Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno.

Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022.

Lake Trasimeno wasn’t the only Italian water body affected by drought this summer, with the Po River hitting record-lows. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites capture high-resolution imagery that provides information about the conditions on Earth, such as water quality, plant life and coastal areas.

The mountainous terrain of the Umbrian Apennine Mountains surrounds Lake Trasimeno with many agricultural fields dotted around the area. Several other smaller lakes including Lake Montepulciano, Lake Chiusi and Lake Pietrafitta, can be seen south of Lake Trasimeno. Perugia, capital of the Umbria region, is a well-known cultural and artistic centre in Italy known for its chocolate and jazz festivals.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #528 on: 09/30/2022 08:42 am »
Melt ponds in West Greenland
30/09/2022

During spring and summer, as the air warms up and the sun beats down on the Greenland Ice Sheet, melt ponds pop up. Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight. This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster. In this image, captured on 29 August 2022, melt ponds in the province of Avannaata can be easily spotted from space as they are usually much darker than the surrounding ice. In some ponds, chunks of ice float atop the pond’s waters.

The bay visible here is Sugar Loaf Bay (an indentation of the northeast Baffin Bay) in the Upernavik Archipelago. The archipelago extends from the northwest coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula to the southern end of Melville Bay.

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere. It extends 2220 km north-south with an average thickness of around 1500 m and spans 1100 km at its widest point.

As most of the northern hemisphere baked under a prolonged heatwave this summer, Greenland has been hit with an unusual late-season heatwave and melt event in early September – the kind of melt that usually occurs in the middle of summer.

The first day of September typically marks the end of the Greenland melt season, as the sun moves lower in the sky with temperatures usually cooling. However, at the beginning of September 2022, temperatures began to rise again when a strong air pressure region parked at the southeast edge of Greenland and drew warmer air northwards across Baffin Bay and the west coast of Greenland.

This led to meltwater runoff, the amount of surface water entering the ocean, to increase with its extensive melting contributing to global sea level rise – which impacts the millions of people living in coastal communities.

In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight. Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change.

Earth observation satellites are key to monitoring ice as they carry instruments that measure changes in the thickness of the ice sheets, fluctuations in the speed of the outlet glaciers and even small changes in Earth’s gravity field caused by melting ice as well as sea-level rise.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #529 on: 10/07/2022 09:16 am »
Bouches-du-Rhône, France
07/10/2022

The port town of Fos-Sur-Mer, in the southern part of Bouches-du-Rhône, France, is featured in this image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2. It is from here where the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite set sail last week on its journey to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.


Bouches-du-Rhône is the third most populated department in France. With its wild and varied landscape, it borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east (with the Mediterranean Sea visible to the south).

Marseille, the second most populous city in France, has one of the largest container ports in the country. Facing Marseille, the Frioul archipelago is made of four islands: Pomègue, Ratonneau, Tiboulen, and If. In the lower centre of the image lies the Étang de Berre, a brackish water lagoon around 25 km northwest of Marseille.[RP1]

Fos-sur-Mer lies on the Golfe de Fos, an inlet of the Mediterranean’s Gulf of Lion, around 50 km from Marseille. Originally a small fishing village, the port town was transformed in the 1960s with the expansion of Marseille’s port and the construction of a major industrial area. It has since become the centre of Marseille’s traffic and container shipments.

It is from here where the Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 (MTG-I1) satellite set sail on its 12 day voyage to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.

Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #530 on: 10/21/2022 10:28 am »
Inhambane Bay, Mozambique
21/10/2022

Inhambane Bay, in southeast Mozambique, is featured in this true-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows. In the north of the bay, where the waters exit into the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean, different water depths can be identified in tones of green and blue.

Two small islands can be seen in Inhambane Bay: Ilha dos Porcos (Pig Island) in the north and Ilha dos Ratos (Rat Island) in the south. On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits.

The region belongs to the Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic, a tropical forest ecoregion of east Africa. The ecoregion stretches around 50 km inwards from the coast and supports a variety of habitats including forest, savanna and swamps.

The long coastline of Inhambane supports fishing activities while the stunning beaches of Barra and Tofo, located on the opposite side of the peninsula, are popular seaside destinations. The coastline is also dotted with coral reefs making it a popular region for scuba diving and snorkelling. The waters off the coast are also famed as one of the last remaining populations of dugong in Mozambique.

Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding. More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country.

Satellites orbiting Earth can provide indispensable up-to-date information to observe such events, and, importantly, to map flooded areas for response teams facing these dire situations. This image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission which is based on a constellation of two satellites, both orbiting Earth at an altitude of 786 km but 180° apart. This configuration optimises coverage and global revisit times.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #531 on: 11/04/2022 11:27 am »
Nushagak Bay, Alaska

The complex and diverse landscape that surrounds Nushagak Bay in Alaska is featured in this true-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Nushagak Bay is a large estuary covering over 100 sq km in southwest Alaska, US. The bay runs primarily north to south from the mouth of the Nushagak River before exiting into Nushagak Bay – an inlet of Bristol Bay some 50 km southwards.

The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River (visible in the top right), which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers.

This true-colour image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. The dark colours of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay.

The largest city in the area is Dillingham, home to around 2000 people, and is surrounded by forests, shrublands, grasslands and mosses. The rivers, as well as the lowlands around Nushagak Bay, are rich with deciduous trees. The dark purple areas along the bay are intertidal mud and sand flats. If you zoom in to the image, a white rim around the southern parts of the bay is visible. Several thaw ponds can also be seen dotted around the image.

Nushagak Bay is an important staging and stopover site for dozens of migratory shorebird and waterfowl species, and it contains one of the largest and most pristine sockeye salmon fisheries in the world.

Sentinel-2 carries a multispectral imager with a swath of 290 km. As well as providing detailed information about Earth’s vegetation, Sentinel-2 is designed to play a key role in mapping differences in land cover to understand the landscape, map how it is used and monitor changes over time.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #532 on: 11/25/2022 12:12 pm »
Zaragoza, Spain
25/11/2022

The province of Zaragoza, in northeast Spain, is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population.

The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain.

In an otherwise arid region, with scarce annual rainfall of less than 380 to 460 mm, irrigation in the Ebro basin is extremely important. The La Loteta reservoir, popular for kite surfing, was designed to regulate the flow of the Aragon Imperial Canal and is visible in turquoise in the bottom-left of the image.

Many agricultural fields in the valleys surrounding the Ebro River can be seen in the image. Cereals, especially wheat and barley, dominate the economy, followed by corn, stock raising and fruit. Different types of agricultural fields can be identified by their shapes. For example, circular shapes in the bottom-left of the image are centre-pivot irrigation fields – where equipment rotates around a central pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers.

The nearby mountains, largely devoid of vegetation, can be seen north of the river. These dry and mountainous areas are the least populated of the region.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 is based on a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit. Its five-day revisit frequency and its global coverage offer excellent opportunities for both regional and global agriculture monitoring. Copernicus helps assess agricultural land use and trends, crop conditions and yield forecasts. It also supports input management, farm management recording and irrigation management.
Jacques :-)

Offline Hog

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2846
  • Woodstock
  • Liked: 1700
  • Likes Given: 6866
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #533 on: 11/27/2022 03:45 pm »
Zaragoza, Spain will always be associated with Shuttle as it was a longtime Transoceanic Abort Landing(TAL) site.
Paul

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #534 on: 12/02/2022 08:45 am »
The moraines of Malaspina
02/12/2022

The remarkable moraine patterns of Malaspina Glacier – the largest piedmont glacier in the world – are featured in this false-colour image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2.

Malaspina Glacier is located west of Yakutat Bay in southeast Alaska, US. Covering an area of around 2900 sq km, the glacier flows for around 80 km along the southern base of Mount St. Elias and is around 300 m thick.

Malaspina flows faster than the piedmont glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland. Piedmont glaciers flow from a steeply sided valley, where the ice is constrained by mountains, onto a flat plain. The change in environment from narrow to wide creates the piedmont’s signature rounded lobe.

This Sentinel-2 image shows the central lobe of the glacier surging towards the sea. This image has been processed using the near-infrared channel to highlight vegetation in bright red. The wavy lines around the lower half of the glacier are rock, soil and other debris that have been deposited by the glacier – called moraines.

The colour of soil varies from light to dark brown in the image, while ice and snow appear bright white. The low Sun level at Alaska’s high latitudes during this season is evident by the shadows cast north by the Elias Mountains. Clear waters of the Pacific Ocean appear dark blue, while turbid waters appear in cyan.

The Malaspina Glacier is widely studied by scientists around the world. Its vulnerability to climate change and its cycles of surges and retreats were studied by scientists using Copernicus and Landsat data. They found that in the event of sea level rise, induced by climate change, seawater could cause major changes in the glacier’s terminus and lead to severe impacts on habitats in the area.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #535 on: 12/09/2022 09:01 am »
Fucino, Italy
09/12/2022

Tucked away in the Fucino Valley, in central Italy, lies the Fucino Space Centre, where Telespazio will manage the early orbit activities of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager, set to launch on 13 December from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Lower temperatures and decreasing daylight hours in October 2022 triggered the autumn foliage in the central Apennines Mountains, Italy. Shades of orange and red in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image depend mainly on the local weather, altitude and orientation of the slopes.

In the centre-left of the image lies a lush valley known as the Fucino Valley. The densely packed rectangles are agricultural fields, with the main vegetables grown here being potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and lettuce. The fields divide a region that used to hold the country’s third-largest body of water, Lake Fucino, which now provides over 13 000 hectares of fully workable and highly fertile land.

Hidden in this agricultural area is the Fucino Space Centre, visible towards the lower right of the plain, surrounded entirely by fields. As well as 170 antennas, it houses one of the two control centres that manage Galileo – the European satellite positioning and navigation system.

It is from the Fucino Space Centre where Telespazio will manage the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I) satellite. The operations team at the space centre will manage the early orbit activities and final orbit transfer.

MTG-I is the first of a new generation of satellites providing crucial insights for the early detection and prediction of fast-developing severe storms, weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The complete satellite system will bring about a significant improvement in the ability to observe meteorological phenomena, ensuring higher-level forecasting capabilities, particularly for ‘nowcasting’ – the short-term monitoring and forecasting of rapidly evolving meteorological phenomena.

Telespazio has been involved in the development of the MTG programme, particularly in the development and management of the ground segment, handling both data acquisition and satellite command and control operations.

MTG-I will carry two completely new instruments: a Flexible Combined Imager and Europe’s first Lightning Imager, developed by Leonardo in Italy, which will be able to capture individual lightning events in the sky, whether day or night.

Join us for the live launch coverage of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager on 13 December on ESA Web TV. For updated launch details, please check here for more information.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #536 on: 12/16/2022 10:02 am »
Dublin, Ireland
16/12/2022

Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 sq km, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west.

The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 km eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea.

The city’s historical buildings include Dublin Castle, which dates back to the 13th Century, and St Patrick’s Cathedral. Dublin is also home to the Guinness Storehouse, which covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped in the form of a pint of Guinness. The seventh floor houses the Gravity Bar with spectacular views of Dublin.

There are many green spaces around Dublin which include Phoenix Park and St. Stephen’s Green. Phoenix Park, visible around 3 km west of the city centre, has a 16 km perimeter wall enclosing 707 hectares of green space making it one of the largest enclosed public parks in any capital city in Europe.

Dublin Bay is around 10 km wide along its north-south base and around seven km in length. North Bull Island, situated in the northwest part of the bay, features a five km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand. Bull Island was created 200 years ago due to the construction of the north wall to Dublin Port and continues to grow seaward.

The island's habitats include beach, dunes, mud flats, grassland and marsh. The island was the first official bird sanctuary in the country in the 1930s. In 1981, it achieved status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve owing to its rare and threatened habitats and species along with its use by important numbers of overwintering birds.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission. Each satellite carries a high-resolution camera that images Earth’s surface in 13 spectral bands. Data from Copernicus Sentinel-2 are used to monitor changes in land cover, agriculture, and coastal and inland waters.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #537 on: 02/03/2023 08:38 am »
Earth from Space: Kolkata, India
03/02/2023

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is featured in this optical image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Kolkata, visible in grey in the centre of the image, is one of India’s largest cities with over 14 million inhabitants. Part of the neighbouring country Bangladesh is also visible in the right.

Kolkata lies on the Hooghly River, which can be seen cutting through the city. The different shades of brown and blue in the water are likely due to the high concentration of sediments. Vast agricultural and aquaculture fields can also be seen, including rice fields and fish ponds, which are distinguishable by their rectangular shapes and the presence of water, particularly in the right side of the image.

The Sundarbans National Park is visible in dark green in the bottom right corner. This protected national reserve, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to Bengal tigers and hosts a vast mangrove forest.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #538 on: 02/10/2023 03:10 pm »
Earth from Space: Swedish landscape
10/02/2023

Agricultural fields that surround the cities of Lund and Malmö in Sweden are pictured in this image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The agricultural fields and countryside appear in tones of green. However, bright yellow fields of rapeseed can also be spotted easily.

Roads and red tones from building rooftops depict the urban centres. Lund is visible in the centre of the image, while the neighbouring city of Malmö is on the coast to the southwest.

From Malmö, the Oresund Bridge, which crosses the Oresund Strait, connects Sweden to Denmark. The Oresund bridge, partially visible in the bottom left, is about 16 km long and comprises three sections: the bridge, the artificial island of Peberholm (both visible in the image) and an underwater tunnel.

North of Peberholm lies the Danish island of Saltholm. It is a few kilometres east of the Danish island of Amager, where Copenhagen airport is clearly visible.

Thanks to Copernicus Sentinel-2’s high resolution imager, it is possible to detect a number of ships in the Oresund Strait, as well as a wind farm in the bottom of the image.

The deeper waters of the strait appear in dark blue, while the shallower waters are in lighter tones of green.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Earth from space: image of the week
« Reply #539 on: 02/17/2023 08:50 am »
Earth from Space: Liverpool Land, Greenland
17/02/2023

The Liverpool Land peninsula, on the east coast of Greenland, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image. The peninsula is visible at the top partially covered with snow.

The Scoresby Sound, one of the widest and longest fjord systems in the world, is a deep inlet that penetrates east Greenland for about 110 km. The town of Ittoqqortoormiit, considered one of the most remote settlements on Earth, lies in the south of the peninsula along the northern shore of the Scoresby Sound.

The Scoresby Sound also includes the Hurry Inlet, visible as a long and narrow fjord on the southwest side of the peninsula, separating Liverpool Land from Jameson Land. Along the west shore of the Hurry Inlet, the Nerlerit Inaat Airport can be seen and is the only airport that serves Ittoqqortoormiit.

In the dark blue waters of the Greenland Sea, a swirl of sea ice stands out clearly in white. The swirl-like feature has a diameter of around 120 km. Ice swirls are typically found in summer marginal ice zones. The marginal ice zone is the transition region between the open ocean and dense sea ice. Wind direction, waves and ocean currents can push blocks of sea ice into this particular shape.

The East Greenland Current, a cold, low-salinity current, is located off the east coast of Greenland. It moves southwards, cutting the Nordic Seas and the Denmark Strait, and is the main route through which the sea ice leaves the Arctic region and moves to lower latitudes.
Jacques :-)

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0